Switch and signal mechanism



(No Model.)

J. V. YOUNG. SWITCH AND SIGNAL MECHANISM. No. 543,793. Patented July 30, 1895.

INVENTOR,

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FEIcE.

JOHN V. YOUNG, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR -TO THE UNION SWITCH AND SIGNAL COMPANY, OF SWISSVALE, PENNSYLVANIA.

SWITCH AN D SIGNAL MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 543,793, dated July 30, 1895.

Application filed August 29, 1 894. Serial No. 521,597- (No model.

' of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Sufiolk and State of Massachusetts,

have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvementsin Switch and Signal Mechanism, of which improvements the following is a specification.

The invention described herein relates to certain improvements in electric locks for switch and signal operating mechanism. Heretofore such locks have been formed by the armature of electric magnets, but have been inefficient for the reason that such armatures must be made light and delicately pivoted in order to be operated by the magnets employed, and hence are incapable of withstanding the strains to which they are necessarily subjected in a switch and signal mechanism.

The object of the present invention is to provide a lock capable of withstanding rough usage and at the same time easily operative and thoroughly efficient as a lock.

In general terms the invention consists in the construction andcombination, substantially as hereinafter more fully described and particularly claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a switch or signal lever having my improved lock applied to the. latchrod thereof. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are similar .views showing the application to the interlocking mechanism and to the connection to the switch or signal, respectively.

In the practice of my invention the lever 1, its latch 2, quadrant 3 and connections, interlocking-bar 4, and rod 5, leading to the switch or signal, are constructed and arranged in the usual or any suitable manner.

- In applying'my improvement to the latchrod 2, as shown in Fig. 1, an arm 6 is so pivoted to the lever 1 that a portion thereof adjacent to its pivotal point will be parallel when in normal position with the latch-rod. At a point adjacent to the pivotal support a notch 7 is formed in the arm 6 for the reception of a projection 8 on the latch-rod, when the latter is in normal position.

9 is attached to the lever 1 in such relation A bracket to the outer end of the arm 6 that the armature 10 of the electromagnet 11, secured on the bracket, may engage the end of the arm 6 and hold it in looking position when the armature is shifted away from the magnets by its retracting spring or weight. The arm 6 is so shaped and hung on the lever l as to lie against or in such proximity to the latchrod that the projection on the latch-rod will enter the notch in the arm whenever the latch-rod is in normal position; but to render the engagement of the projection and notch more certain the arm is yieldingly held in close proximity to the latch-rod by a spring 12.

In Fig. 2 the lock is applied to the bar 4, forming one of the members of the interlocking mechanism, which may be of the Stevens, Saxby and Farmer, or Hambay type.

The arm 6 is pivoted to the supportingframe of the interlocking mechanism, to

which the magnets 11 are also secured in proper relation to the arm 6.

In Figs. 3 and 4 the lock is shown as applied to the rod 5, forming a part of the connection between the lever 1 and the switch or signal operated thereby. In the construction shown in Fig. 3, the arm 6 is so bent as to pass partially around the magnets 11, and is provided at its free end with a hook 13 for engagement with a corresponding hook on the end of the armature 10. In the construction shown in Fig. 4, the arm 6 is provided with a short extension beyond its pivotal point and the notch 7 is formed in this extension.

It is characteristic of my improvement that the notch 7 for engaging the projection 8 on the part to be locked is located in close proximity to the pivotal point of the arm,

and that the distance from the notch to the free end of the arm is very much'greater than the distance from the notch to the pivotal point, so that a very small force applied to the free end of the arm will be sufficient to overcome a very much greater force applied at the point of engagement of the notch and projection. It will be observed that the force tending to shift the arm 6 away from the part locked by it is applied to the arm at an angle less than a right-angle,

thereby diminishing the effectiveness of such lifting force. It will be observed that the arms 6 are so arranged as to automatically return to locking position, the spring being employed in the construction shown in Fig. 1 only to render the automatic action certain and prompt in all positions of the lever 1. It will be readily understood that the projection 8 may be formed on the arm 6 and the notch 7 in the part to be locked. The faces of the projection and notch are formed at such an angle to the line of movement of the part to be looked that when the arm is unlocked it can be shifted away from such part by the movement of the inclined faces along each other.

My improved lock can be readily applied, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, to any movable part of a switch or signal operating mechanism.

I claim herein as my invention- 1. The combination of a switch or signal operating lever, a rod or bar having one end connected to said lever and movable thcrewith, and provided with a projection having an inclined face, an arm provided With a notch having an inclined face and pivotally mounted in such relation to the bar or rod as to be moved by the rod or bar when shifted, and an electro'magnet provided with an armature and so arranged that the armature will automatically engage the free end of the locking arm, substantially as set forth.

2. A movable part of a switch and signal operating mechanism provided with a projection having an inclined face in combination with pivotally mounted arm automatically movable into locking relation with the movable part and provided with a notch having an inclined face and so located that the distance from the notch to the free end of the arm is greater than the distance from the notch to the pivotal point, and an elcctro magnet provided with an armature for en gaging the free end of the arm and holding the same in looking position, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN V. YOUNG. Witnesses:

CHAS. A. G. WINTHER, BENJ. J. DOWNS. 

